Join us for the 8th webinar in this 10-part series focused on the financial, managerial, and technical aspects of green infrastructure. Experienced practitioners, policy and funding experts, as well as academics, will discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the implementation of green infrastructure. These informative sessions will be offered quarterly, from April 2024 to July 2026.

Series Host: Southwest Environmental Finance Center

January 22, 2026 | Session 8 | Community Engagement for Successful Green Infrastructure

Description: Many infrastructure projects are installed and maintained without any public awareness or education about the projects, who they serve, and how decisions are made regarding site selection, design, and operations. Sometimes, the agencies or companies responsible for the infrastructure face retaliation or dissatisfaction from the communities they are trying to serve. Community engagement and education serve as crucial tools to involve the public in the infrastructure in their communities and ensure that the planning and implementation of infrastructure are more equitable, inclusive, and appropriate for the community. In this webinar, we will hear from professionals in Southern Arizona and North Central Texas on applications of communications, environmental justice, and community engagement across multiple scales, from single projects to multi-project Green Infrastructure Programs.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how citizen management of green infrastructure assets can improve stormwater management and community outcomes.
• Recognize the elements of successful community education in a growing GSI program.
• Identify the core benefits and challenges of public education and engagement around green infrastructure.

Guest Speakers: Xochitl Coronado-Vargas, Public Outreach Coordinator, City of Tucson Storm to Shade and Fouad Jaber, Professor and Extension Specialist, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Texas A&M

Certificate: This webinar has NOT been submitted for continuing education credit approval. We can provide a certificate of attendance to eligible attendees but cannot guarantee it will meet your PDH or CEU requirements.

Who Should Attend:

We invite rural, small, and tribal wastewater personnel, as well as planners, landscape architects, architects, consultants, engineers, designers, managers and board members, elected officials, policy experts, citizens, and community groups to join us for this series. We hope to build a community of systems, municipalities, and individuals interested in participating in a wide-ranging conversation about green infrastructure.

Partner: